Leading nearly 1,500 programs and events at the Moscone Convention Center and surrounding venues is “20/20 Vision: The Impact of Technology and Globalization on Ethics for the 21st Century Lawyer,” a program later today that will bring together a panel led by San Francisco lawyer Judith Miller to explore the implications of a rapidly changing legal profession.

“The way we do business today is almost completely different as a result of technology and the globalization of law practice—instantaneously communicating with people around the world on the Internet and searching for information with just a few words typed on a computer. We can’t ignore that our world has changed. We need to be leaders in dealing with the change,” said ABA President Carolyn B. Lamm, explaining the need for a fresh examination of lawyer regulations.

Guidance for the legal profession as it deals with the new realities of law practice is one of Lamm’s areas of focus, and the program will draw from work of the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20, a group Lamm established last year to address the impact of technology and globalization. 

In addition to the “20/20 Vision” program, the ABA has more than a dozen other sessions examining the intersection of technology and law practice, ranging from those on managing e-discovery costs, creating social media policies and other practice-related concerns, to programs that take a more macro view of the legal profession, such as a session on Friday, “Justice 12.0—Is There an App for That?” that will make predictions on legal services 30 years from now.

The impact of the down economy on law practice and the justice system also guides programming at the 2010 meeting. “Law Firm Legal Aid,” a program today from the ABA Center for Pro Bono, explores the probable loss of volunteer lawyers that law firms made available for legal aid programs over the past year while business slowed. A panel will examine the ramifications on the justice system when law firms return to their business as usual.

The possible reduction in pro bono assistance from law firms comes as more Americans than ever struggle with legal issues such as foreclosure, even as the economy shows signs of improving.

Victor M. Fortuno, president of the Legal Services Corporation and Rebekah Diller, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, are among panelists who will lead a discussion today on developing response strategies to problems related to access to justice during “Crisis in Representation!”

Panelists will specifically look at a report from the ABA Coalition for Justice last month that found that the bad economy and a large number of judicial vacancies are widening the justice gap, affecting middle-class Americans as well as those with low-incomes.

Also weighing in on the crisis in legal services is Laurence Tribe, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently created Access to Justice Initiative, who will discuss improving the availability and quality of  indigent defense in a conversation on Saturday with Norman Lefstein, professor and dean emeritus of Indiana University School of Law, and Virginia Sloan, president of The Constitution Project.

Among other programming related to enhancing access to justice, “Enforcing a Right to Counsel for Children: The Time is Now” includes a criminal justice panel led by Miami lawyer Hilarie Bass that will explore ways to remove barriers that prevent lawyers from representing children in dependency court.

“This program is an example of the ABA identifying issues that are falling through the cracks.  All too often we read in the papers about disasters for foster children after they happen.  The ABA is taking the initiative to look at what can be done to prevent these crises from occurring,” explained Lamm of the Thursday session. “This program is focused on improving the system for foster children by looking at best practices for lawyers representing our most vulnerable citizens.”

Other programs addressing indigent defense include the Friday session “Stepping Up for Justice for Veterans as They Stand Down,” an examination of emerging best practices on serving veterans, such as Veteran Treatment Courts that aim to reduce recidivism.

The ABA Annual Meeting continues through Aug. 10.

A federal court has tossed a lawsuit filed by a candidate for the Wisconsin state Assembly who wants to use a racially charged phrase to describe herself on the ballot.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa says in the Wednesday order that Ieshuh (eye-EE'-shu) Griffin's lawsuit must be dismissed because it is a habeas corpus action, which requires the person bringing it to be in custody.

Randa did not discuss the merits of the lawsuit. Griffin is fighting a decision by the state board that regulates elections barring her from using the phrase "NOT the 'whiteman's b----'" to describe herself on the ballot.

Griffin tells The Associated Press she intends to refile the lawsuit as a civil rights action as well as appeal the judge's order on her original lawsuit.

A Polish appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision to hand over to Germany an alleged Mossad agent wanted in the slaying of a Hamas leader.

The decision means that the alleged agent, known as Uri Brodsky, must be handed over to Germany within 10 days. The decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Brodsky was arrested in Warsaw in June on a European warrant issued by Germany and charging him with espionage and helping to falsely obtain a German passport. The passport was allegedly used in connection with the Jan. 19 slaying of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.

A three-judge appeals panel upheld a July ruling by Warsaw's district court that Brodsky be extradited to Germany on the forgery charges solely. That means he can only be tried in Germany for forgery and not spying, which would spare Israel a possibly embarrassing espionage trial. It would also mean a lesser penalty if he is found guilty.

The lower court's ruling was appealed by Brodsky, who hoped to be freed and returned to Israel, and by state prosecutors seeking to have him extradited on both forgery and espionage charges.

Still, Thursday's decision appeared to be a compromise with something for both sides: Poland will extradite him to Germany but has ensured that he will face lesser charges.

"The decision of the court seems to be satisfying to all sides," said Anna Mika-Kopec, Brodsky's defense lawyer.

A Bolivian man charged with killing a nun in a car crash in Virginia had at least two previous drunken driving convictions and had been released twice by immigration officers who took him into custody because he was in the United States illegally.

Carlos A. Martinelly Montano, 23, was charged in Sunday's accident in Virginia's Prince William County. Sister Denise Mosier, a nun with the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia, died in the crash, and two others, Sisters Charlotte Lange and Connie Ruth Lupton, were injured. They remained in critical condition on Wednesday, a spokeswoman, Sister Glenna Smith, wrote in an e-mail.

A wake for Mosier was planned for Thursday evening and a funeral Mass and burial for Friday, both at the nuns' Bristow, Va., monastery, according to its website.

The accident occurred as the nation has become divided over how much authority police should have to check the immigration status of people they stop. Some in Virginia would like to expand that authority, similar to a tough law Arizona recently passed. That law is under review in federal court.

In a statement on their website, the nuns said they're upset that the tragedy is being politicized and "become an apparent forum for the illegal immigration agenda."

A state juvenile court judge on Tuesday rejected the request of a Christian convert's Muslim parents to order their daughter to continue chemotherapy for uterine cancer.

The request from the parents of Rifqa Bary does not meet the legal requirement of a medical emergency needing immediate treatment, Franklin County Juvenile Court Magistrate Mary Goodrich said during a hearing.

Goodrich made the ruling at the beginning of what's expected to be the final court appearances by Bary, who remains in foster care in state custody until she turns 18 next week.

Bary wants Goodrich to determine that reconciliation with her parents is impossible. The stakes are higher than a family reunion. If the judge agrees with Rifqa Bary, an undocumented immigrant from Sri Lanka, the girl could also receive a special status allowing her to stay in the country.

Bary underwent successful cancer surgery in May and then was scheduled for 45 weeks of chemotherapy , which would give her an "80 to 90 percent chance" she'd be fine, Omar Tarazi, an attorney for Bary's parents, told the judge.

Instead, Bary stopped the chemotherapy after two or three rounds, deciding she'd been healed, Tarazi said. In a court filing last week, the girl's parents claimed she stopped after visiting a faith healer.

The first word on whether California's same-sex marriage ban passes scrutiny under the U.S. Constitution is scheduled to come down Wednesday when a federal judge issues his ruling in a landmark case.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker has reached a decision on whether to uphold or overturn the voter-approved ban known as Proposition 8 and plans to publish his opinion in the afternoon, court spokeswoman Lynn Fuller said.

His verdict comes in response to a lawsuit brought by two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco seeking to invalidate the law as an unlawful infringement on the civil rights of gay men and lesbians.

Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriages in California five months after the state Supreme Court legalized them, passed with 52 percent of the vote in November 2008 following the most expensive campaign on a social issue in U.S. history.

Attorneys on both sides have said an appeal was certain if Walker did not rule in their favor. The case would go first to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals then the Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it.

Anticipating such a scenario, lawyers for the coalition of religious and conservative groups that sponsored Proposition 8 in 2008 filed a legal brief Tuesday asking Walker to stay his decision if he overturns the ban so same-sex couples could not marry while an appeal was pending.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says the prospect of three women on the Supreme Court is exhilarating, and she intends to stay around and enjoy it.

After the death of her husband and her own treatment for cancer, there was speculation that the 77-year-old justice would step down. But she told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she plans to remain on the court for the foreseeable future and still wants to match Justice Louis Brandeis, who retired at age 82.

Ginsburg talked with the AP as the Senate began debate on the all-but-assured confirmation of high court nominee Elena Kagan, chosen by President Barack Obama to replace John Paul Stevens. Last year, Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined the court after David Souter retired.